Paris - France, current holder of the EU presidency, warned Austria yesterday against trying to blackmail the EU into dropping political sanctions imposed after the far-right Freedom Party entered the Vienna government.
EU leaders have agreed sanctions will remain until a panel of three legal experts reports on the human rights situation in Austria and the political views of the Freedom Party. Austria decided on Tuesday to hold a non-binding referendum this autumn on the sanctions, which since February have barred bilateral contacts between Vienna and the 14 other EU states.
The Freedom Party leader, Dr Jorg Haider, whose antiforeigner stand and favourable comments about the Nazis have raised concerns about human rights in Austria, has pressed for the referendum as a sign of Austrian annoyance with the EU.